Middle Eastern Meat Loaf

Recipe from Ruth Adams Bronz

Adapted by Marialisa Calta

Published February 2, 1991

  • Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
1 hour 15 minutes
Rating
4(455)
Comments
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—Marialisa Calta

Featured in: Food; The Square Meal

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Ingredients

Yield:6 to 8 servings

FOR THE MEATLOAF

  • 1 pound lean ground beef

  • 1 pound ground lamb

  • 2 eggs

  • 1 cup milk

  • ½ cup rolled oats

  • ½ cup chopped parsley

  • 1 cup onion, minced

  • ½ cup green pepper, minced

  • Juice of ½ lemon

  • Grated zest of ½ orange

  • 1 cup pine nuts

  • 1 cup raisins

  • 1 teaspoon ground allspice

  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme

  • 1 ½ teaspoons salt

  • 1 teaspoon black pepper

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

  • 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

  • 2 tablespoons melted butter

FOR THE SAUCE

  • 2 tablespoons butter

  • 1 cup finely chopped onions

  • ½ cup finely chopped green pepper

  • 1 bay leaf

  • 1 clove garlic, minced

  • Juice of 1 lemon

  • ½ cup raisins

  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme

  • 1 teaspoon ground allspice

  • 4 cups canned tomatoes, with their juice

  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste

  • 3 tablespoons chopped parsley

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

  1. FOR THE MEATLOAF

    1. Step 1

      Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

    2. Step 2

      In a bowl, thoroughly combine the ground beef and the lamb. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs. Stir in the milk and oats. Pour into the meats. Mix thoroughly.

    3. Step 3

      Add all other ingredients except melted butter. Mix well.

    4. Step 4

      Shape mixture into an oval loaf and place in a roasting pan. Drizzle with melted butter and bake for 1 hour. Serve with sauce.

  2. FOR THE SAUCE

    1. Step 5

      In a skillet, heat the butter. Add the onions, green pepper and bay leaf and saute until onion is translucent and limp, about 5 to 10 minutes.

    2. Step 6

      Add the remaining ingredients, except tomato paste and parsley, breaking the tomatoes into small pieces as you add them. Simmer for 30 minutes, or until sauce begins to thicken.

    3. Step 7

      Add the tomato paste and stir well. Cook 15 minutes. Add the parsley, stir well. Serve over Middle Eastern Meat Loaf.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
455 user ratings
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Comments

Linda

After making the mixture according to specifications I cooked a bit to test the flavours. Seriously bland but the texture was nice. To liven it up I then added to the meat mixture: a VERY generous amount of Ras el hanout and harrissa, more lemon and orange zest and juice,
mint (a lot), 6 garlic cloves, another cup of sultanas, cardomon and cumin to the sauce

Marinate overnight. The loaf developed a nice crust and stayed moist. Would also be good as meatballs or bbq patties.

Roni Jordan

I have my own recipe for a Middle Eastern meatloaf made with dark meat ground turkey, but this was a pleasant change. I would definitely reduce the amount of pine nuts and raisins - especially since raisins are also a component of the sauce.

Deb

add ras al hanout, harissa, sumac, more garlic saute the onions and peppers,

Gary E

Ooo - I'm sorry but my wife and I did not care for this at all. Surprisingly flavorless. The sauce too lacked Middle Eastern flair - overwhelemed by green peppers.

AK

This turned out well to my taste! I didn't have worcestershire sauce so I subbed fish sauce, and was missing thyme so in the loaf put paan methi and for the sauce remembered I had zaatar. Was very happy to use the full measure of raisins and pine nuts that were biding their time in my fridge this last year. My oven was fine with 425 and didn't burn the loaf at all - it was perfectly done and moist.

Rachel

The comments on adding extra flavor are 100%. I followed everything but added some sumac and garlic and zaatar, if not for my young kids also eating it I think harissa would have done it well. Really great, will make again for sure.

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Credits

Adapted by Ruth Adams Bronz from her mother's recipe

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